Monday, August 25, 2008

Brian and I made rat-tat-too-eee the other night all from ingredients in the garden, (except cheese and pine-nuts). We used thin long slices of zucchini, squash, tomatoes, bell peppers. Brian made a homemade tomato sauce from our tomatoes. We put one layer down of the zucchini, then put down some sauce, then some cheese and spices (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (all chop

ped up and from our garden). Then repeated this with each vegetable. We added cheese and spices to the top and pine nuts, then we baked it in the oven for 45 minutes at 325 degrees.

Brian drained a little bit of the juices once it was done, so it didn't get too soggy while it cooled. Then we ate it with our neighbors who invited us over for drinks with whole wheat sourdough bread, and had a cheese plate after this coarse that the neighbor had made.

What is the Omnivore's Hundred? Well, it's kind of like the food blogger's version of a "Things To Do Before I Die" list meets a drinking game. Which basically makes it an eating game. I'm guessing you may have seen it before on other food related blogs.

Thought up by Andrew Wheeler over at Very Good Taste, it's a list of "100 things that I (Andrew Wheeler) think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life." There are normal and not so normal things on this list, and I'm quite happy at the number I've had so far.

The idea of the list and resulting project is that people publish the list on their blogs and journals, bold what they've eaten (and cross out anything they refuse to ever eat) and then leave it out for the world to see. It's a cool idea, and very fun to see what other people have eaten as well. Kind of one of those, "why didn't I ever think of this, it seems so brilliant and simple" ideas.

So here's my list:

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison (Yech. Not a fan, too gamey for my taste. Noah really likes it, though.)2. Nettle tea 3.Huevos rancheros (I live in LA and grew up in CA, so yes, I have had this dish many times. I like chilaquiles with eggs more.) 4.Steak tartare (Love it. Love all raw meats that don't make you sick. My mom will tell you I used to steal pieces of raw ground beef whenever she was cooking with them. My first official steak tartare was at a restaurant in Paris, as it should be.)5. Crocodile 6. Black pudding (Had this for the first time when I was studying abroad in London my junior year of college. It's fantastic and rich and key to a real full English breakfast.) 7. Cheese fondue (Oh, how I used to love fondue. That is, until I realized that all heated dairy products give me... let's just say it's not pretty. Basically, I have a crazy form of lactose intolerance which means I live my life now without awesome things like mac 'n cheese and custard based desserts, including ice cream. Sad, isn't it? But don't worry, cold milk and cheese and whipped cream are still a part of my diet.)8. Carp 9. Borscht (Eh, it was pretty unmemorable.) 10. Baba ghanoush (Love to say it, love to eat it.) 11. Calamari (It's still early in the life of this site, but I'm sure you'll come to learn just how much I love octopus & squid. Fried, grilled, sushi? Bring it.) 12. Pho (Another food you can't live in LA and never have tried. Or if you have, well that's just sad.) 13. PB&J sandwich (Oh man, now I really want a PB&J with my mom's homemade Mirabelle plum jam that's in my fridge. Mmmmmmm.)14. Aloo gobi (Indian food is a weakness for me. We have some solid delivery places nearby and eat it often.)15. Hot dog from a street cart (Another thing you'll learn about me is my love of "meat snacks". In fact, my friend and writing partner, Veronica, has a photo series of me eating various overly large meat items including a foot-long+ chili cheese dog.)16. Epoisses (Had it on many a cheese plate. Oh yeah, cheese plates are another weakness for Noah and I.)17. Black truffle (What's crazy is I've had black truffles TWICE this past weekend. Once on a pizza at Cube on Friday night and again last night at our anniversary dinner at animal, sprinkled over a shaved asparagus and poached egg salad.)18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (An ice wine made from apples.)19. Steamed pork buns (Oh crap, I love these too. You guys are going to think I like everything, but this list so far is full of mostly awesome food I love. And just so you know, I loathe capers. So that's something I hate.)20. Pistachio ice cream (Meh. Eh. Whatever.)21. Heirloom tomatoes (I love them, I grow them, I eat them as long as they're in season. Which in LA is quite a while. My favorite this year have been the Bisagno's and the Paul Robesons. And you can never go wrong with the Pineapples, they're always the first beefsteaky tomatoes ready for eating in our garden.)22. Fresh wild berries 23. Foie gras (Mmm. And something I've had several times recently as well. Weird.)24. Rice and beans (Yep, both the Southern US and the Latin American versions.)25. Brawn, or head cheese (Not as disgusting as you might think. I like it better than Oscar Meyer baloney.)26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper27. Dulce de leche (Never had it and now can't due to the hot, milky issues previously discussed.)28. Oysters (Didn't try these until my early 20s and then I fell in love with them. Malpaques are my faves.)29. Baklava30. Bagna cauda (I'm not sure, I might have tried this at some point in Italy or southern Switzerland, but since I can't remember for sure I'm gonna say no.)31. Wasabi peas (They're the last thing I eat out of the rice cracker snack bags. Dehydrated pees are kinda nasty.)32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (SF shout out!)33. Salted lassi34. Sauerkraut (I cannot tolerate a sports venue that does not serve suaerkraut as a condiment with its hot dogs & sausages. It's just wrong. And one of the many reasons I hate the Dodgers.)35. Root beer float (Almost as good as the real thing when you make it with frozen yogurt. Which I can eat, along with goat's milk ice cream. So don't feel too bad for me.)36. Cognac with a fat cigar (Bringing back memories of our wedding in Locarno. I even did the puff, then blow into the cognac glass, then sip thing.)37. Clotted cream tea38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (I assume they refer to Jello Shots. Which I totally haven't had in the last six months. Nope, definitely not.)39. Gumbo40. Oxtail41. Curried goat (No, but I'm dying to try it. There's a place downtown that supposedly does a fabulous goat. Noah just told me he had it with his dad in Jamaica once. He was eight. Ballsy.)42. Whole insects (Noah claims to have had these as well. I told him eating bugs on the golf course doesn't count.)43. Phaal44. Goat’s milk45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more46. Fugu47. Chicken tikka masala48. Eel (Both fresh and salt water varieties.)49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (But the best ones are the chocolate covered, whip cream filled variety.)50. Sea urchin51. Prickly pear52. Umeboshi53. Abalone54. Paneer55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I've never really gotten the appeal of the Big Mac. I like the cheeseburgers, with pickle, no mustard or ketchup.)56. Spaetzle57. Dirty gin martini58. Beer above 8% ABV (Noah and I regularly attend the Belgian Beer Fest every March in Pasadena. And Duvel is a Top 3 beer choice por moi.)59. Poutine60. Carob chips (My mom used to try and convince my sister and I that carob and chocolate tasted the same. We were not fooled.)61. S’mores62. Sweetbreads (Again, this is mainly because of anniversary dinner goodtimes, but I've also had sweetbreads in the last week. I LOVE SWEETBREADS. In fact, if you want to let me know the best places for sweetbreads in LA, it would be greatly appreciated.)63. Kaolin64. Currywurst65. Durian66. Frogs’ legs67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (Everything but elephant ears have been enjoyed by my belly.)68. Haggis69. Fried plantain70. Chitterlings, or andouillette71. Gazpacho72. Caviar and blini (Years ago an employer was fooled into flying me first class to NYC as AN ASSISTANT. They served caviar and blini and chilled vodka just after take off. It made me feel so fancy. Now our frequent flier miles get us the upgrades every once in a while, but we have to make do with the omnipresent warm nuts. Boo.)73. Louche absinthe74. Gjetost, or brunost75. Roadkill76. Baijiu77. Hostess Fruit Pie (I like cherry. I like powdered sugar donut gems better.)78. Snail79. Lapsang souchong (In college I worked at an independent coffee shop in the Bay Area. They made you taste each of the 15 coffees and 20+ teas they had. One of them was Lapsang souchong. I vaguely remember a smoky flavor. Or maybe a grassiness. Whatever, give me Darjeeling and I'm a happy lass.) 80. Bellini81. Tom yum (I also like Thai food, but not as much as Indian.)82. Eggs Benedict83. Pocky (My friends are mildly obsessed with this stuff and as a result I've got some strawberry Pocky in my cupboard at this very moment.)84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.85. Kobe beef86. Hare87. Goulash88. Flowers (I used to eat them as a child, cause I'm a freak like that. Now I mainly see/eat them in salad form.)89. Horse90. Criollo chocolate91. Spam92. Soft shell crab93. Rose harissa94. Catfish95. Mole poblano (Love mole. You've gotta get it at Guelaguetza if you're in LA. The West LA branch is best.)96. Bagel and lox97. Lobster Thermidor98. Polenta99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee100. Snake

Sunday, August 24, 2008

As I said in the last entry, which confusingly was also the first entry, I have personally created the following slightly kooky recipe to use up excessive amounts of zucchini in new and interesting ways.

I wouldn't replace the traditional summer fruit crumble/crisp recipe with this, but it might be a good one to use with kids who are picky about veggies. Or if you are being attacked by garden zucchini.

I wish I had a picture of the dish, but as noted, there was a lot of wine involved that day...

ZUCCHINI & PLUM CRUMBLE AND/OR CRISP

For the filling:

3 c. zucchini, finely diced or grated

6 plums

1/3 c. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. flour

1 tbsp. butter

salt

For the topping:

1 c. quick cooking oats

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 c. raisins

1/4 c. sugar, I prefer brown

1/4 c. butter, softened

1 tbsp. pepitas or sunflower seeds (optional)

1. Saute zucchini in the butter and a dash of salt until it has softened. Remove from heat and pat out as much moisture as you can.

2. Combine the zucchini with the rest of the filling ingredients and let it sit for a half an hour or so, until the plums have made things nice and juicy.

3. In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit, in case you were wondering) and then set about combining the crumble/crisp ingredients. You should have a loose, chunky dough. If it's too dry add some ice water or a little more butter. If it's too dense and doughy, add a little flour.

4. Place filling in an 8x8 glass baking dish and cover with the topping.

5. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Serve hot, with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt if you like that kinda stuff.

I was a journalism major. For six weeks. So I'll use a little Reporter 101 to help you get to know us here at Attack of the Killer Zucchini a little better.

Who: Six family members (mom & dad, two grown-up daughters and their husbands). Some of us live in the Bay Area, some of us live in LA. And if the in-laws join in, we'll have Bakersfield and the greater Baltimore area covered as well.

When: We came up with the idea on a family vacation in the Sierras. A family vacation where everyone brought what was growing in their garden. Including almost three dozen zucchini. And we're talking mostly those big mothers that seemed to grow to the size of a small dog almost overnight.

So we were like, "Hmm, what the hell can we make with all this zucchini?" Things pretty much turned Top Chef Quickfire Challenge and we came up with an interesting array of food. There was a zucchini and plum crumble (which didn't actually suck). There were also zucchini pancakes, in the vein of potato pancakes, a zucchini stir fry and several other dishes as well. Oh yeah, and there was wine. Lots of it. Which led to chattiness, which turned into a "let's do a blog" "yeah, totally!" "OMG, I love that idea" conversation. And now, after lots of discussion about name, layout, content and other boringness, Voila!

Where: Here. Duh.

Why: We've got a writer, a photographer and a chef in the family, so we're hoping this site will actually look, read and taste great. And at the very least, it's a good way for all of us to keep in touch. Hi, Mom!

So, you know, enjoy.

(Oh, and PS - I'm obviously not the photographer, which is why my lovely photo of a zucchini drinking a beer is so, um, amateurish.)